This study proposes to define and describe informal and formal support networks and the differential utilization of these networks by working and middle class Mexican-American and Anglo American parents of firstborn children. The study focuses on the period of transition to parenthood, that is, on the changes in need and stresses encountered by parents during the first eight weeks of the firstborn's life. A sample of 100 couples, one-half Mexican American, one-half Anglo American, in Santa Barbara, California will be intensively interviewed in the weeks immediately following the birth of their first children to (a) determine their perceived needs for maternal and child related supportive services; (b) assess their differential integration into two types of support networks: informal (family and friends) and formal (institutionalized services); (c) study variations in their coping strategies relative to the two kinds of support networks; (d) determine the degree and manner in which linkages exist between the informal and formal support networks of young parents; (e) isolate configurations of need and lack of integration into supportive networks which create high emotional and physical stress, thereby identifying young families at risk. Findings of this study are expected to validate a process model of resource utilization and at the same time provide practical information to agencies concerned with the welfare and mental health of young families.